I remember an
Italian verse that ran thus, word for word:
"And turned my rage into pity;"
which the English for rhyme's sake translated:
"And into pity turned my rage."
By this means the soft notes that were adapted to pity in the
Italian fell upon the word rage in the English; and the angry sounds
that were turned to rage in the original, were made to express pity
in the translation. It oftentimes happened, likewise, that the
finest notes in the air fell upon the most insignificant words in
the sentence. I have known the word "and" pursued through the whole
gamut; have been entertained with many a melodious "the;" and have
heard the most beautiful graces, quavers, and divisions bestowed
upon "then," "for," and "from," to the eternal honour of our English
particles.
The next step to our refinement was the introducing of Italian
actors into our opera; who sang their parts in their own language,
at the same time that our countrymen performed theirs in our native
tongue. The king or hero of the play generally spoke in Italian,
and his slaves answered him in English. The lover frequently made
his court, and gained the heart of his princess, in a language which
she did not understand. One would have thought it very difficult to
have carried on dialogues after this manner without an interpreter
between the persons that conversed together; but this was the state
of the English stage for about three years.
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